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Ywww STATES Perm OFFICE:

ADAM AKETTERING .AND AUG. voGLE, or HEM-Primi) 'rowNsI-nr, wEsTMoREnAND pGoUNTY; PENNsgYLvAN'IA. i i

TANNTI'NG. f

Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,639, dated June 24, 1844.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, ADAM KETTERING and AUGUSTUS VOGLE, of Hempeld township, l/Vestmorela-nd county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvenient in Tanning Hide into Leather; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification.

The nature of our improvement is to take the extract from the bark in a quicker manner than usual and thereby to tan hide into leather quicker than usual, without the aid of steam or chemical composition.

To enable others skilled 1n the art to make use of our improvement we will proceed to describe its operation. y p

Our Vats are eight feet long, fourwide and five deep; we` have a movable division three or 15 degrees.

feet from the endcalled the reserve box being marked by the letter A and the part to handle the hides in marked by the letter B.`

The division is perforated withholes to allow the extract to flow from A into B. The reserve box is to be filled with good ground chestnut oak bark. l/Ve take pure water and pour it upon the bark in the reserve box A until the other part of the vat B is nearly full.` In one hour if the bark is good the extract will gain the strength of eight degrees measured by the hydrometer.

Having five vats of the above description the reserve boxes being' all filled with the same kind of bark we pump by means of a hand pump the extract. from vat No. 1 onto the bark in the reserve box No. 2. This extract in one day rises to 10 or 12 degrees of strength; water being again poured on the bark in the reserve box No. 1 will attain the strength of 6 degrees in one hour. 7e fill the extract from vat No. 2 in the reserve box of vat No. 3 and the extract rises to 14 The liquor from vat No. 1 is poured into No. 2, and its strength is from S to 9 degrees. No. 1 being again filled with pure water the extract rises to 3 .and 4 degrees. In two days we pour the extract from vat- No. 3 to vat No. four and it will then attain 1S degres, the water from No. 2 to No. 3 and obtain an extract of 10- degrees. The Water from N o. 1 is poured to No. 2, and attains 5 degrees. No. 1 beinglled with Water the fourth time itgains the strength of 2 degrees. In two days we pour the ex-` tract of No. 4 on the reserve box of No.

5, and we gain the strength of 22 to `24 the extract of No. 2. VVehandle them there for one day very often,

so that they may acquire the proper color.

The liquor in No.r

V2 not being very strong the grain of the hide is not drawn together but is soft and smooth, the grain being perfectly tanned through in one day. The hides are then taken out andshifted to No. 3. In this they are handled 3 or 4 days and then shifted to No. 4. They are handled there or seven days, and then we may say that one half is perfectly tanned. rl`hey are then placed in N o. 5 vat and in four or five weeks they are Welland perfectly tanned through according to the size of the hides.

Adocmages..-ln the first place the liquor is pure and will enter the pores of the hides water the fifth time;

lV e have now liquor t quicker than in the old way where the bark is thrown upon the hides and the pores are thereby stopped up. 2. The liquorbeing pure the hide still draws a stronger extract from the reserve box and is thereby tanned much sooner.` In the third place it is tanned in four fifths of the time and makes beautiful elastic and tough leather. In the fourth place it takes one fifth less of bark, for the hides from No. 2 may be shifted to No. 3

and new hides placed in No. 2, from No. 3

to No. 4,and so on. When the extract in No. 5 is no longer strong enough No. 1 may be cleaned and fresh bark be placed in the reserve box and the liquor from No. 5 be poured thereon. And lastly it requires less space, for the vats may be placed in a circular manner or square. We tan calf skins in this manner in from 6 to 10 days; upper leather from 18 to 24, heavy hides in from 8 to 10 weeks, very heavy country sole leather or Spanish hides if not tanned through in S or 10 weeks are laid away for any length of time without injury.

What We claim as our invention and de- Vats 'used for said purpose7 also as above set sire to secure by Letters Patent is: forth.

The above described process of tanning' ADAM KETTERING. hide into leather in a quicker manner than AUGUSTUS VOGLE. usual and Without the aid of steam or any Witnesses:

chemical composition, and in connection A. G. MARCHAND, therewith, the pecular arrangement of the GEORGE KETTERING. 

